Contingency and Fortune in Aquinas' Ethics
Posted: Tue Mar 30, 2010 4:09 pm
My review of John R. Bowlin's book Contingency and Fortune in Aquinas' Ethics. Great book 
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If you want a better understanding of virtue theory, or ethics in general, this book should definitely be on your reading list. Bowlin argues that Aquinas' view of the virtues is that they are functional in nature--that is, that they help us interact with the world around us and make the right choice in any given situation.
Extremely important to this is the idea that nothing, except God, is good in and of itself, but rather that things are contingently good. That is, what may be good in one case may not be good in another (thus, consider the old dilemma of lying to a killer to save your family). While deontologists and teleologists have spent their time trying to work out some sort of objective methodology to account for such variations, Aristotelians, like Aquinas, can rely on the virtues to help them perceive the right order and respond accordingly.
In light of this, Bowlin does an excellent job defending the fact of contingency in moral issues and its relation to the virtues, especially courage (though the others are not ignored). He also fairly deals with three main objections to his view: whether or not Aquinas actually held it, whether such a view robs life of joy by insisting on constant toil, and whether such a view is inherently unfair since people have different experiences in life and thus different chances at developing the virtues.
In the end, classical Thomists will find a solid defense for their view. Those of Augustinian, Stoic, or Kantian persuasions, and even some Thomists like Geisler who hold to a different interpretation of virtue ethics, will find the arguments worth considering. Highly recommended.
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If you want a better understanding of virtue theory, or ethics in general, this book should definitely be on your reading list. Bowlin argues that Aquinas' view of the virtues is that they are functional in nature--that is, that they help us interact with the world around us and make the right choice in any given situation.
Extremely important to this is the idea that nothing, except God, is good in and of itself, but rather that things are contingently good. That is, what may be good in one case may not be good in another (thus, consider the old dilemma of lying to a killer to save your family). While deontologists and teleologists have spent their time trying to work out some sort of objective methodology to account for such variations, Aristotelians, like Aquinas, can rely on the virtues to help them perceive the right order and respond accordingly.
In light of this, Bowlin does an excellent job defending the fact of contingency in moral issues and its relation to the virtues, especially courage (though the others are not ignored). He also fairly deals with three main objections to his view: whether or not Aquinas actually held it, whether such a view robs life of joy by insisting on constant toil, and whether such a view is inherently unfair since people have different experiences in life and thus different chances at developing the virtues.
In the end, classical Thomists will find a solid defense for their view. Those of Augustinian, Stoic, or Kantian persuasions, and even some Thomists like Geisler who hold to a different interpretation of virtue ethics, will find the arguments worth considering. Highly recommended.
